The present invention relates to car seats, e.g., infant car seats. More specifically, this invention is concerned with an infant car seat caddy that supports an infant car seat above a ground or support surface and permits the infant car seat situated thereon to be transported from a first location to a second location by pushing and steering the carrying handle of the infant car seat.
Infant car seats are used to carry and transport infants and small children to a vehicle and to secure said infants and small children to the interior of a vehicle, usually upon a vehicle seat, by means of seat belts and passenger harnesses. The infant car seats are used to secure infants and small children within the interior of a vehicle as the seats and associated seat belts and passenger harnesses of a vehicle do not accommodate the relatively smaller sizes of infants and small children. An infant or small child secured to a vehicle seat by a seat belt or passenger harness would not be adequately restrained by the seat belt or passenger harness, especially when the vehicle experiences sudden deceleration or is impacted by another vehicle.
A typical infant car seat is equipped with dedicated restraining straps to secure the infant or small child to the infant car seat and a series of slots, openings, or other straps to receive or connect to the seat belts or passenger harnesses of a vehicle seat. In this manner, the infant car seat can be securely attached to a vehicle seat, and an infant or small child can be securely attached to the infant car seat. Nevertheless, conventional infant car seats suffer from several disadvantages. They are typically constructed of a bulky seat portion or section that receives or holds the infant or small child therein and an attached carrying handle. The carrying handle projects at some distance above the seat portion and must of sufficient size and bulk to bear the weight of the infant car seat with an infant or small child situated therein. These features of an infant car seat make it difficult to carry either by the carrying handle or by the seat portion, especially when it is necessary to transport an infant car seat with an infant or small child situated therein over an appreciable distance.
What is needed then to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional infant car seats is the provision of an infant car seat caddy that can receive and support an infant car seat with an infant or small child situated therein and permit the infant car seat with infant or small child to be transported from a first location to a second location. The subject of the instant invention introduces an infant car seat caddy that can be extended to full height during use and retracted during non-use for storage. During extension of the infant car seat caddy, an infant car seat is situated, located, or positioned on the top of the infant car seat caddy and wheeled over the distance to be traveled by pushing the infant car seat or carrying handle thereof and steering or maneuvering the infant car seat as needed to direct the infant car seat and infant car seat caddy from a first location to a second location.
Numerous designs for infant car seats and infant car seat strollers have been provided in the prior art. Even though these designs may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as such designs are intended to function as infant car seats and conventional infant and small child transport devices, such as strollers. The infant car seat strollers available in the prior art are generally elaborate in design and cumbersome to use. These designs are exemplified by the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,720,911, Convertible Baby Stroller and Child's Seat For Automobiles, issued to Lantz on 18 Oct. 1955;
U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,115, Convertible Baby Carrier, issued to Miller on 5 Oct. 1976;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,721, Convertible Stroller, issued to Harada et al. on 6 May 1986;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,331, Combination Automobile Seat And Stroller, issued to Tucker et al. on 9 Aug. 1988;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,401, Child Carrier Usable As Backpack, Stroller And Recliner, issued to Severson et al. on 10 Apr. 1990;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,518, Combined Baby Car Seat And Stroller, issued to Besaw 17 Jan. 2006; and
U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,316, Infant Car Seat Stroller, issued to Peridon on 14 Mar. 2006.
As illustrated by the background art, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to develop devices for transporting small children outside of a vehicle. No prior effort, however, provides the benefits attendant with the present invention.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved infant car seat caddy, said infant car seat caddy able to be extended to full height during use and retracted to a compact configuration during non-use. During use, the infant car seat caddy receives on the top end thereof an infant car seat with an infant or small child situated therein. The infant car seat is wheeled over the distance to be traveled by pushing the infant car seat or carrying handle thereof and steering or maneuvering the infant car seat as needed to direct the infant car seat and infant car seat caddy from a first location to a second location. In these respects, the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus that substantially fulfills this need. Additionally, the prior patents and commercial techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements arranged and configured as disclosed herein.
The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objects, and advantages through a new, useful, and unobvious combination of method steps and component elements, with the use of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, and by employing only readily available materials.